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August 24, 2012

Quakers are recognized as one of the moving forces in the abolition of slavery in America. Since the 1770s, all Yearly Meetings of the Religious Society of Friends in North America agreed that slavery was a "national evil" and that holding slaves was in direct conflict to their values. Although their ideals were clear, their actions were often less so.

In recalling her earlier involvement with the anti-slavery movement, Quaker abolitionist Elizabeth Buffum Chace wrote in 1891 about her family's renewed enthusiasm for the emancipation of the slaves--an enthusiasm sparked by William Lloyd Garrison's call for immediate emancipation during the 1840s in his publication The Liberator. "I remember well how eager we were [ . . .] to present the cause of the slave to everybody we met; not doubting that, when their attention was called to it, they would be ready, as we were, to demand his immediate emancipation."

Elizabeth was profoundly disappointed when this turned out not to be the case. "[ . . .] from the Friends, surely, we expected sympathy and understanding. But as we met them, individually and in groups, and made our appeal for the slave, we were shocked to find out even they [ . . .], with rare exceptions, shut their eyes to the great inequity. They objected to the strong, denunciatory language of The Liberator, they disapproved of Friends uniting with other people in public meetings [ . . . ]; they did not think the slaves should be set free all at once, and they did not want their daughters to marry Negroes." (Salitan and Perera, 95-96.) These were the reactions of New England Quakers, long at the forefront of the anti-slavery movement and long engaged in open condemnation of the practice. The reactions of Quakers farther west, who were settling the states of the Northwest Territory, were even more disappointing.

The Indiana Yearly Meeting, representing the states of Indiana, Illinois, and the western part of Ohio, held its first meeting in 1821. According to Errol T. Elliott, the meeting consisted of no fewer than 20,000 members, approximately one quarter of whom previously belonged to the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and the rest representing Quaker migration from the southern states. By 1841, the growing activism of its abolitionist members was causing tension in the Meeting. All were united in their belief that slavery was evil, but they differed greatly on how it should be abolished. The more radical in their numbers favored the Garrisonian approach of immediate emancipation and, until then, active participation in the Underground Railroad; others favored "colonization" of the blacks, sending them back to Africa where they could thrive in their own country; and yet others believed in the gradual emancipation of slaves as an inevitable outcome of man's sense of humanity and justice.

These differences of opinion eventually caused the Indiana Yearly Meeting to advise all members to cease joining anti-slavery societies and to wait for "divine direction" on the issue. Active abolitionists were also banned from holding positions of responsibility within the Yearly Meeting and, at local Monthly Meetings, many were disowned or condemned for their views. The result was the founding of Anti-Slavery Meetings by those who wished to continue their pursuit of emancipation, including an Indiana Yearly Meeting of Anti-Slavery Friends founded by Levi Coffin. Many who were disowned or condemned by their Meetings for their anti-slavery activism joined these new Meetings, resulting in what came to be known as the Separation of 1843.

The Clinton County Historical Society in Wilmington, Ohio, possesses a quilt that gives testimony to the separation that took place over the anti-slavery issue. Called The Abolitionist Quilt, it hangs for public viewing in the Rombach Place Museum in Wilmington.

The Abolitionist Quilt was researched extensively by Ricky Clark who published her findings about it in the July/August 1995 issue of Piecework. The quilt was signed by women from the Hadley, Coate, Bailey, McCracken, Coggeshall, and Bangham families. These Quaker women, as it turned out, were close relatives and abolitionists. On the quilt, most had inscribed Clinton County, Ohio. The other location noted on the quilt was Newport (now Fountain City), Indiana. Newport was situated ten miles north of Richmond, the seat of the Indiana Yearly Meeting of Friends.

and measuring 72 X 72 inches. Photograph courtesy of the Clinton County

Historical Society.

Ricky discovered through Hinshaw's records and other sources that the women listed as living in Clinton Colunty on the quilt relocated to Newport where they joined their fellow-quilters and relatives as members of the New Garden Monthly Meeting. The Separation of 1843 began in this Meeting and several of the women named on the quilt were disowned. They subsequently participated in the establishment of the New Garden Monthly Meeting of Anti-Slavery Friends.

In her article, Ricky Clark speculates that the women who made The Abolitionist Quilt may have done so to strengthen their bonds as Quakers, relatives, and abolitionists. She says: "They may have made the qult [ . . .] during a time of crisis, the abolition Separation of 1843, when Quakers were so divided over the question of abolition that members left or were excluded from the particular Quaker meetings to which they belonged." (Clark, 68.)

August 4, 2012

American signature quilts began to appear in the early 1840s and peaked in popularity at mid-century. After the 1850s, their popularity declined but quilt makers continued to produce signature quilts into the 1870s and beyond.

The appearance of signature quilts is generally attributed to the influence of the autograph book which became popular in this country in the 1820s as a means of recording sentiments, artistic sketches and, most importantly, relationships with friends and family members. By the 1840s, the concept of the autograph book was applied to quilts when their makers began signing quilt blocks, often adding a sentiment reflective of the quilt's purpose. This new trend was especially appealing to Quaker quilt makers who, through this means, documented community and family relationships to be carried away by members leaving their Meetings to move elsewhere, to acknowledge a marriage, or to be passed down to later generations as a reminder of those who came before.

Modified Bear Paw signature quilt dated 1869. Made in Belmont County,

Ohio; maker unknown. This quilt was made for a family or person departing

The history of autograph books goes back at least to the mid-sixteenth century when students at universities in Germany began to keep albums containing the signatures of friends and acquaintances, including their professors. Since most students in those days attended more than one institution of higher learning, the books served to record the names of those a student wanted to remember as he traveled from one university to another. These books were called Album amicorum in Latin and often included wise statements inscribed by faculty acquaintances--statements that provided guidance and encouragement to the students as they pursued their academic studies.

A page from the autograph book of Simon Haendel featuring a personal

greeting written in Latin. The album was compiled in the 1590s.

Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

Three centuries later the autograph book appeared in America. The popularity of this "new" means of expression prompted the composition and publication of sentimental verses that could be used by book inscribers to express their feelings, give advice, and demonstrate their friendship. Such verses appeared in the 1830s and 1840s in The Lady's Book, later known as Godey's Ladies Book and Magazine. This publication, with a circulation of 150,000 by the time of the Civil War, also provided women with patterns and ideas for making quilts, clothing, and decorative accessories for the home. Many of the autograph book verses that appeared in Godey's and elsewhere were also adopted for inscriptions on quilts.

Photograph of the cover and an interior page of a 19th century autograph

book. The verse reads: "Live for those that love you, For those whose

hearts are true, For the heaven that smiles above you, And the good that you may do."

Photographs courtesy of Wikipedia Commons, author Playingwithbrushes.

If you have a signature quilt inscribed with a verse, it is fun to research the early publications of verse to try to find the dates and evidence of its usage. One useful source is provided by W.K. McNeil who published "From Advice to Lament: New York Autograph Album Verse, 1820-1850." New York Folklore Quarterly 25, no. 3 (September 1969): 175-94. Our copy of this article was obtained from the Internet. You can download a PDF file of the article for $3.00. Search on New York Folklore Quarterly, click on the contents notation for xxv, September 1969, click on the article name, and follow the instructions for receiving a PDF file.

Ann Hanna Hambleton

Ann was the mother-in-law of Philena Cooper Hambleton, the subject of Philena's Friendship Quilt: A Quaker Farewell to Ohio, and the great-aunt of Senator Marcus Hanna of Ohio.

American Quilt Study Group

Do you know about the American Quilt Study Group (AQSG)? If not, you should. The purpose of this non-profit organization is to establish, sustain, and promote the highest standards for quilt related studies, to encourage these studies, and to provide opportunities to disseminate the work of both academic and non-academic researchers. Membership in the AQSG entitles one to receive Uncoverings, an annual journal of the research papers presented at AQSG's yearly Seminar, and a quarterly publication titled Blanket Statements containing research papers, notes and queries, as well as AQSG and quilt world news. In addition, an annual directory is provided that lists the names, contact information, and interests of current AQSG members--a valuable networking resource that gives access to approximately 950 fellow quilt enthusiasts. Click on the quilt block above to visit AQSG's web site and learn how to become a member. The site also provides information about the organization's annual Seminar, its publication opportunities, its Quilt Study program, and the Technical Guides and other publications available to members and the general public. AQSG is also on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/American-Quilt-Study-Group/149056808116.

Quaker Quilts: Snapshots from an Exhibition

This pamphlet by Mary Holton Robare contains photographic and informational snapshots of quilts that were displayed in a three-day exhibit of Quaker Quilts held at Abram's Delight Museum in Winchester, Virginia, in 2014. The exhibit featured twenty-six quilts made between ca. 1840 and 2007. Click on the image to learn more about it.

Quilts and Quaker Heritage

Mary Holton Robare's book on selected quilts from an exhibition at the Virginia Quilt Museum in 2008. Click on the book to order and search by title.

Philena's Friendship Quilt: A Quaker Farewell to Ohio

In this 4th publication of the Ohio Quilt Series published by Ohio University Press, Lynda Salter Chenoweth presents the story of Philena Cooper Hambleton and the quilt made for her in Ohio in 1853 to take with her when she migrated to Iowa. To order, click on the book and then search by title.

Neighbors and Friends: Quakers in Community

Lynda Salter Chenoweth's second book based on her research into Philena's quilt tells the stories of those whose names appear on the quilt and places their lives in context. To order, click on the book and then search by title.

When This You See Remember Me

Also of interest by Mary Holton Robare. Schoolgirl Samplers of Winchester and Frederick County, Virginia. To order, click on the book, click "Store", then "Softcover Books" and search on title.

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Copyright

(c) 2011-2017 Lynda Salter Chenoweth and Mary Holton Robare. Absolutely no reproduction or distribution permitted beyond one copy for personal study. For additional permissions regarding text please e-mail lchen@saber.net. All images are reproduced with permission of copyright holders. Any commercial or online use is strictly forbidden.

Lynda Salter Chenoweth

Mary Holton Robare

About Us

Lynda and Mary are quilt historians experienced in researching and publishing information about quilts made by members of the Religious Society of Friends. Their particular interest is in 19th century inscribed quilts that document Quaker families and their communities.
Lynda lives in Sonoma,California, and is a writer, a quilter, a researcher, and a member of the Board of the American Quilt Study Group. Mary lives in Winchester, Virginia, and is a writer, a researcher, and a choreographer and dance instructor.